


The Sum of Our Parts

by snicklefritz



Category: Marvel (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-14
Updated: 2013-07-14
Packaged: 2017-12-20 05:29:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/883480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snicklefritz/pseuds/snicklefritz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky's arm malfunctions and since Tony is off doing... whatever it is Tony does, Steve is the only one Bucky trusts to repair it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sum of Our Parts

**Author's Note:**

> First Steve/Bucky fic on AO3, yay! Lame title because I am the worst with titling my stories. This is completely unapologetic fluff. I also know nothing about robotics or cybernetics and I wrote this in about two hours so I apologize for any and all errors.

"Are you sure about this?" Steve says hesitantly. "I might make it worse." 

Bucky rolls his eyes even though he knows Steve can't see him. "You'll do fine, Steve. All you've gotta do is slide that bolt back into place and I'll be good as gold." He can hear Steve shift on his feet and take in a deep breath. Bucky knows Steve is comfortable with his arm, but comfortable at seeing it and touching it on a _surface_ level. Any kind of maintenance work Stark always took care of. Steve is going to have to literally take him apart (and he's done that before, with his eyes and his mouth and his hands, only this time Steve will have actual tools to do it with). 

"I can feel myself aging, Rogers, c'mon," Bucky prompts, readjusting himself on the bed. He's pushed against the far side with his left arm laid out for Steve to work on. A toolbox is sitting where Bucky's pillow normally is. He listens to Steve take in one more breath before he joins Bucky on the bed, opening up the toolbox and pulling out a flashlight. 

"Okay," he says, "tell me what to do." 

Maybe it's just because they've had similar conversations in bed before, or maybe it's just the effect Steve has on him, but Bucky has to fight back a Pavlovian response to roll over and pull Steve down for a kiss. He silently tells his traitorous body to shut up and says, "You'll have to open up the back part of my shoulder blade. There's a flashlight and a screwdriver in the kit."

He listens to Steve dig around for a minute and pull out the tools. Before he sets to work though, Steve leans down and presses a kiss to the line of scar tissue where the metal of Bucky's arm meets skin. It's always been a sensitive area and Bucky goes breathless for a moment. 

"Steve-"

"Sorry, sorry," Steve says, not sounding sorry at all. Bucky bends his left leg back to lightly prod at what he thinks is Steve's thigh with his foot. "Focus, okay?"

"Focusing, right, got it." 

Steve's always been the first to admit a lack of talent with mechanics, but Bucky thinks he's picked up more from Stark then he realizes, because he opens up Bucky's shoulder blade in less than two minutes. He can feel Steve tense beside him as he looks at the array of wires and circuits inside Bucky's shoulder. It's a lot to take in, he knows, and he turns his head as far as he can to try and catch Steve's eye. Steve looks at him and nods. 

"What do I do now?"

Bucky talks Steve through the rest of the procedure, calmly and slowly. Steve is hesitant but his hands are steady as he finds the wayward bolt, and Bucky feels Steve slide it back into place with a thunk. 

"See? That wasn't so hard," Bucky says, and he listens to Steve laugh softly. Steve leans back and suddenly something in Bucky's shoulder _pulls_ , sending shocks of pain through his entire upper body. He screams before he can stop himself, his entire shoulder feels like it's being ripped open _again_ , and beneath the pain he can't understand what went wrong, it was a simple enough repair, Steve-

And just like that the pain stops. Bucky catches his breath, unclenches his fingers (he ripped the sheets again, that's the second time this month), and lifts his head to look at Steve. 

Steve looks stricken, his body curled in on himself as he presses himself back into the wall like all he wants to do is melt into it. There's a wrench by his feet. 

"It- it got caught on a wire, I didn't see it, Bucky, I am _so sorry_ -"

"Steve- _Steve_ ," Bucky says gently. He manages to crook the fingers of his left hand and gestures for Steve to come closer. Steve sits back down as slowly and carefully as possible, doing his best not to jostle Bucky's arm. 

"I'm okay, Steve," Bucky sighs. "You just managed to get on my nerves in a _very_ literal sense." 

The joke is weak and he knows it, but he sees Steve crack a tiny smile from the corner of his eye. "Seriously, those nerve optic cables are a bitch. You are not the first, nor I suspect the last person, to accidentally yank on one. I'm fine. Now stitch me back up so we can actually do something fun."

Steve hesitates for a long moment before he picks up a screwdriver. "You have something in mind, Buck?" he asks, his voice amused. Bucky can feel Steve reattaching the plating to his shoulder ever so carefully. When the last screw is finally in he leans down and kisses the line of scar tissue and metal once again.

"Hey, you know _exactly_ what I'm talking about." Bucky retorts, pushing himself up. He makes a fist with his left arm, bending the elbow, swinging the whole thing around a few times to test it's mobility. He can still feel a slight give in the shoulder and his elbow is stiff, but his arm will hold up until Stark gets back for repairs. 

"Not a bad job," he says to Steve, who's putting away the tools. "When Stark gets back I'll have him look at it." He knows Steve understands it's not a brushoff, just an acknowledgment that they need someone with expertise. He turns and grabs the collar of Steve's t-shirt. "Now come here, punk."

"Jerk," Steve murmurs automatically against his lips. Bucky pulls Steve down and rolls them over so he can straddle Steve's waist. Steve got to take him apart once today; now Bucky gets to return the favor.


End file.
